80 Years On, 94-Yr-Old Woman Recalls Naval Bombardment
Kamaishi, Iwate Pref., July 14 (Jiji Press)--The city of Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, is said to have been the first place on Japan's Honshu main island to suffer a naval bombardment by the Allied powers during World War II.
More than 5,000 shells were fired into the northeastern city, which had a large iron mill, on July 17 and Aug. 9, 1945, killing a total of 782 people, mostly civilians.
As the bombardments lasted about two hours on both days, Mutsuko Sano, 94, clearly heard the earth rumbling at a school for girls about 30 kilometers away.
Sano was 14 years old when she evacuated with others from her hometown in Kamaishi to the school in the neighboring city of Tono in April 1945.
After the second attack, more of Sano's classmates evacuated from Kamaishi. She could nothing but hold devastated friends who had lost relatives.
(2025/07/14-21:39)
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